1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a program rewriting device which rewrites its own software programs or software programs stored in other devices connected to the network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Peripheral devices, such as printers, can be connected to a personal computer directly or through a network. Each peripheral device includes a ROM or other type of memory that stores software programs for executing processes of the peripheral device. Recently, it has been proposed to store the software programs in a rewritable memory, such as a flash ROM, so the programs can be rewritten by performing special operations. This would enable the programs to be rewritten to correct bugs in the software or to add new functions to the peripheral device.
However, each time this type of program needs to be rewritten, the overseer of the network must perform the troublesome task of determining the need to rewrite the program separately for each personal computer and each printer.
Recently, a network printer system has been extensively used. This system includes a plurality of printers and a plurality of personal computers connected to each other through a network. Such a system would enable image data transmitted from one of the personal computers to be printed out using a free printer, that is, a printer that is not presently being used by any of the other computers. However, with such a system, the some operation for rewriting programs would often need to be performed for all of the printers connected to the network. The program must be rewritten for each printer, one printer at a time. For this reason, management of a network system, such as the above-described printer system, would require a great deal of labor and effort.